Eva King is a 2022-2023 Fulbright 
English Teaching Assistant Alumna who taught at Purkyňovo Gymnázium in Strážnice, Czech Republic. Prior to teaching in the Czech Republic, Eva was a 4th grade public school teacher in Maryland, and upon her return to Maryland she began teaching 3rd grade. Eva King is currently still teaching 3rd grade near Washington D.C. and keeps up with one of her former mentor teachers, Dáša Lovecká, by doing a Pen Pal program. The Pen Pal program is with Eva’s American 3rd graders and Dáša’s Czech students who are in primary school in Hroznová Lhota, where Dáša works now. Eva also keeps up with her primary mentor teacher, Katrin Holubíková Jongepierová, by messaging and video calling, especially to see Katrin’s first baby, Jonáš. While Eva is also in contact with some of her former students, some of the people she keeps up with most are her lifelong friends and fellow 2022-2023 ETA alumni.
Photo on the right: Eva at the Petrov wine cellars with her mentor teachers Katrin (second from the left) and Dáša (forth from the left), as well as two other teachers from Purkyňovo Gymnázium, Radka (first) and Tereza (fifth), as a farewell event (June, 2023).
I finally did it! 32 days, 9,132 miles, and 23 states later, I officially drove cross-country. It’s been an absolute dream of mine to drive cross-country, from Maryland to California and back, and I finally did it! It was in the works for years, as I had planned to drive from Maryland to San Francisco and back in 2021, but my plans had to change. I was unable to find enough friends to carve out weeks of their summer to make it from the East Coast to the West, but I was able to find three friends to drive to Colorado and back– stopping short of the Pacific Ocean.
.PNG)
I’m not sure when it became a life goal to drive cross-country, but I think it slowly gained traction with my family’s road trips along the East Coast. From Florida to Maine and everywhere in between, my family and I had driven up and down the East Coast. We were never visiting family or friends, just seeing new places, since almost my entire family resided in Maryland. But once the summer of 2023 hit, I suddenly had friends all across the United States. My new friends who I used to visit in Louny, Hodonín, Prostějov, Tišnov, and Odry were now in Fargo, Seattle, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Winston-Salem. So, once the opportunity arose to travel around the U.S. and visit faraway friends while doing it, it felt infinitely more worth it.
The road trip was full of people and plans, but I started it on my own right after the 4th of July, 2024. From Maryland, I drove north through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Michigan, camping alone for two nights then driving through Wisconsin and Minnesota before arriving in Fargo, North Dakota to see Tylie Olson, who used to teach in Louny (Average time from Strážnice to Louny: 5 ½ hours by train; My time from Baltimore to Fargo: ~24 ½ hours by car).
Photo on the right: Tylie and Eva in the Fargo Visitor Center (July, 2024).
Tylie and I became friends in the Czech Republic almost right away, as she was the first ETA I met, even before the Fulbright Orientation. Even though she was far from Strážnice, Tylie always made an effort to visit her friends, wherever they were placed in the Czech Republic. Together, Tylie and I traveled around the Czech Republic, from Český Krumlov to Bohemian Switzerland National Park, and to other neighboring areas like Dresden, Germany. We even got Czech tattoos together in Prague (Tylie held my hand for emotional support). Now, it was time to make some new memories traveling to the West Coast!
After spending a few days in North Dakota, touring North Dakota State University, Tylie’s alma mater, seeing the famous Fargo woodchipper, and eating fries with a flight of ranch, I was on the road again– but this time with a buddy! Tylie and I drove through North Dakota to the west, making a pit stop at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. To be honest, I didn’t even know this national park existed, but looking back on the entire trip, it was absolutely one of the best! It was in Theodore Roosevelt National Park that I got to see bison for the first time in my life, as well as wild prairie dogs (not in a zoo!) and wild horses. If you haven’t been, I would definitely add this national park to your bucket list! After waving goodbye to the bison and prairie dogs, Tylie and I were off to Bozeman, Montana to stay with one of her childhood friends, Lauren. I actually got to meet Lauren a few times when we were in the Czech Republic because she came to visit Tylie. When we arrived in Bozeman, she showed us around the city and took us tubing on a river through the mountains. Lauren was super welcoming, being a great tour guide and also letting Tylie and I crash at her place.
Tylie and I became friends in the Czech Republic almost right away, as she was the first ETA I met, even before the Fulbright Orientation. Even though she was far from Strážnice, Tylie always made an effort to visit her friends, wherever they were placed in the Czech Republic. Together, Tylie and I traveled around the Czech Republic, from Český Krumlov to Bohemian Switzerland National Park, and to other neighboring areas like Dresden, Germany. We even got Czech tattoos together in Prague (Tylie held my hand for emotional support). Now, it was time to make some new memories traveling to the West Coast!
After spending a few days in North Dakota, touring North Dakota State University, Tylie’s alma mater, seeing the famous Fargo woodchipper, and eating fries with a flight of ranch, I was on the road again– but this time with a buddy! Tylie and I drove through North Dakota to the west, making a pit stop at Theodore Roosevelt National Park. To be honest, I didn’t even know this national park existed, but looking back on the entire trip, it was absolutely one of the best! It was in Theodore Roosevelt National Park that I got to see bison for the first time in my life, as well as wild prairie dogs (not in a zoo!) and wild horses. If you haven’t been, I would definitely add this national park to your bucket list! After waving goodbye to the bison and prairie dogs, Tylie and I were off to Bozeman, Montana to stay with one of her childhood friends, Lauren. I actually got to meet Lauren a few times when we were in the Czech Republic because she came to visit Tylie. When we arrived in Bozeman, she showed us around the city and took us tubing on a river through the mountains. Lauren was super welcoming, being a great tour guide and also letting Tylie and I crash at her place.
Photo on the right: Lauren and Tylie walking through downtown Bozeman (July, 2024).
After appreciating the scenery of Montana, Tylie and I set off to visit another friend of ours– Elise Wulchin. Elise taught at a Gymnázium in Hodonín, only a 30 minute bus ride from my old apartment in Strážnice (Average time from Strážnice to Hodonín: 35 minutes by bus; My time from Baltimore to Seattle: ~45 ½ hours by car). Needless to say, Elise and I saw each other almost every week. From grocery shopping to traveling on the weekends to attending all the festivals we could, Elise and I experienced a lot of the Czech culture together (Elise also got a Czech-inspired tattoo). It was tough to go from seeing Elise every week to being thousands of miles away from her. Fortunately, Elise is from Virginia so when our time with Fulbright ended, we weren’t all that far from each other. That is until she moved from Virginia to Seattle! On the bright side, it was another friend to visit in another city.
After appreciating the scenery of Montana, Tylie and I set off to visit another friend of ours– Elise Wulchin. Elise taught at a Gymnázium in Hodonín, only a 30 minute bus ride from my old apartment in Strážnice (Average time from Strážnice to Hodonín: 35 minutes by bus; My time from Baltimore to Seattle: ~45 ½ hours by car). Needless to say, Elise and I saw each other almost every week. From grocery shopping to traveling on the weekends to attending all the festivals we could, Elise and I experienced a lot of the Czech culture together (Elise also got a Czech-inspired tattoo). It was tough to go from seeing Elise every week to being thousands of miles away from her. Fortunately, Elise is from Virginia so when our time with Fulbright ended, we weren’t all that far from each other. That is until she moved from Virginia to Seattle! On the bright side, it was another friend to visit in another city.
Photo on the left: Eva, Tylie, and Elise in Prague for the Easter markets (April, 2023).
Photo on the right: Elise, Tylie, and Eva with the Seattle skyline (July, 2024).
Elise and her boyfriend, Will, were amazing tour guides of the city they had just moved to a few months prior. We went to the Pike Place Market, walked along the Puget Sound, and watched Twilight after a day trip to Olympic National Park. At this point, I had driven through the farmland of the midwest, the mountains of the west, and that day in Olympic National Park we hiked through the Hoh Rainforest (my first rainforest!).
On the long drives through the Pacific Northwest, Tylie, Elise, and I spoke a lot about our transition from teaching in the Czech Republic to teaching in the United States (Tylie teaches high school English and Elise is also an elementary school teacher). One of the reasons the three of us were fast friends during Fulbright was in part due to our prior teaching experiences. We reminisced on our weekends traveling together and our time back in the Czech Republic. After a few days of touring Seattle, the three of us were on an adventure to Mt. Rainier, parting ways after a night in Portland, Oregon together.
Back on my own, I traveled to California. I drove, camped, and hiked through Redwood National Park (ranking high up on my list with Theodore Roosevelt National Park). After a relaxing few days of recuperating in nature, I was off to San Francisco where I picked up my cousin, Olivia, and friend, Victor, from the airport. The three of us traveled together down the California coast– through Yosemite, Sequoia, and Los Angeles– towards Las Vegas, where my boyfriend, mom, brother, and aunt joined the trip. After saying goodbye to Victor in Las Vegas, the six of us headed to the Grand Canyon for a few days. After camping out under the stars, we were off to Albuquerque where my mom, brother, aunt, and cousin parted ways and flew back home. From New Mexico, my boyfriend, Ryan, and I were headed to Texas to visit two more ETA alumni– Urvi Sakhuja and Pranav Kakulamarri.
On the long drives through the Pacific Northwest, Tylie, Elise, and I spoke a lot about our transition from teaching in the Czech Republic to teaching in the United States (Tylie teaches high school English and Elise is also an elementary school teacher). One of the reasons the three of us were fast friends during Fulbright was in part due to our prior teaching experiences. We reminisced on our weekends traveling together and our time back in the Czech Republic. After a few days of touring Seattle, the three of us were on an adventure to Mt. Rainier, parting ways after a night in Portland, Oregon together.
Back on my own, I traveled to California. I drove, camped, and hiked through Redwood National Park (ranking high up on my list with Theodore Roosevelt National Park). After a relaxing few days of recuperating in nature, I was off to San Francisco where I picked up my cousin, Olivia, and friend, Victor, from the airport. The three of us traveled together down the California coast– through Yosemite, Sequoia, and Los Angeles– towards Las Vegas, where my boyfriend, mom, brother, and aunt joined the trip. After saying goodbye to Victor in Las Vegas, the six of us headed to the Grand Canyon for a few days. After camping out under the stars, we were off to Albuquerque where my mom, brother, aunt, and cousin parted ways and flew back home. From New Mexico, my boyfriend, Ryan, and I were headed to Texas to visit two more ETA alumni– Urvi Sakhuja and Pranav Kakulamarri.
Photo on the left: Urvi showing off her cowgirl boots at Eva’s gymnázium during an American Day event (April, 2023).
Photo on the right: Urvi showing off her cowgirl boots in Fort Worth, Texas while giving Eva and Ryan a tour of the city (July, 2024).
While in the Czech Republic, Urvi taught at a school in Prostějov and was in a neighboring Fulbright nest to my own (Average time from Strážnice to Prostějov: 3 hours by train; My time from Baltimore to Fort Worth: ~109 hours by car). Urvi was a wonderful friend to have in the Czech Republic because of her positivity and loyalty– you could always count on her. Urvi visited my school a few times, once to teach the Cha Cha Slide and another to come to a surprise birthday party that some of my students threw for me that May. Together, Urvi and I have traveled to Dresden, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Budapest and visited friends and towns across the Czech Republic. So after a year of being away, it was such a treat to see Urvi and have her show Ryan and I around Fort Worth, Texas. She gave us the real Texan experience, bringing us to a honky tonk, listening to live music, and pointing us in the right direction to the nearest Buc-ee’s. Hearing about her time in medical school gave me second-hand stress, but seeing her happy and in her element was amazing.
Soon after seeing Urvi, Ryan and I drove to Pranav just the next day. Pranav was placed at a gymnázium in Tišnov, a farther nest member than Elise (Average time from Strážnice to Tišnov: around 2 ½ hours by train; My time from Baltimore to San Antonio: ~113 hours by car). Pranav, Elise, and I often met up in Brno or at each other’s towns, getting to know each other’s students and co-workers. Pranav always brought great energy and existential questions to our conversations, which quickly translated into Pranav doing stand-up comedy in San Antonio when he returned from Fulbright. Pranav, also in medical school, was able to take a break before starting his next year of school to show Ryan and I around San Antonio. He walked us around the Pearl District, we caught up at dinner, and then even stopped by a Texan speakeasy (fitting because Pranav showed me a speakeasy in Prague only a year prior). Pranav let us stay the night at his apartment and we made sure to give his dog an extra pet before we left.
Photo on the left: Eva (bottom left), Pranav (bottom right), and other Fulbrighters on a trip in Budapest to celebrate Eva’s 24th birthday (May, 2023).
Photo on the right: Pranav and Eva in downtown San Antonio, Texas (July, 2024).
Texas wasn’t our last Fulbright alumni stop though! Ryan and I drove through the hot Texas heat and towards the swamps of Louisiana. Elinor Grage, my third visitor in medical school, was able to fly to New Orleans to meet Ryan and me for the weekend. Anyone who meets Elinor, loves Elinor so it was a blast to be able to see her again! Elinor lived near Urvi in the Czech Republic, in the nest neighboring Elise, Pranav, and me. She lived in Odry, which I was unable to truly get to know during my year in the Czech Republic, but Elinor often met up with myself and other Fulbrighters in other areas around the country. Elinor was always positive and welcoming, her and I connecting quickly based on the small towns we lived in (really only having one Penny to grocery shop unless we wanted to take public transportation). Elinor, Ryan, and I braced the heat and humidity of New Orleans in August to go on a swamp tour to see alligators, a ghost tour to see spirits, a Mardi Gras museum tour to see floats, and Café Du Monde to eat the best beignets (and only) I’ve ever had.
Photo on the left: Elinor and Eva being tourists in Budapest, Hungary (May, 2024).
Photo on the right: Ryan, Elinor, and Eva being tourists in New Orleans, Louisiana (August, 2024).
Ryan flew back to Maryland from New Orleans, leaving Elinor and I a night alone in New Orleans before driving through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina in one day to reach Elinor’s apartment in Winston-Salem (Average time from Strážnice to Odry: around 3 ½ hours by train; My time from Baltimore to Winston-Salem: ~133 hours). It was the longest drive of the trip, but it absolutely flew by because Elinor and I had so much to catch up on. Once in North Carolina, Elinor gave me a bed to sleep on, a great local breakfast the next morning, and a hand-made Winston-Salem sightseeing guide before sending me on my way back home on the 32nd day of my month-long road trip– July 5th to August 5th.
Through fields, grasslands, prairies, mountains, rainforests, deserts, plains, valleys, swamps, and back again, I was able to visit five old friends who I know will be part of the rest of my life. Back in 2021, I was thrilled to be able to make it to Colorado, however, I was disappointed to not be able to make it to the West Coast and the Pacific Ocean. Looking back on it now, I am extremely happy that I wasn’t able to go to California back then. I had no one to visit and make memories with, and now that it happened in 2024 I know it was the perfect timing.
Photo on the left: Elise, Eva, Elinor, and Urvi supporting a local crochet artist at the Slavnosti Mandloní a Vína (almond and wine festival) in Hustopeče (March, 2023).
Photo on the right: Elise, Eva, Tylie, Urvi, and Margaret at the Český Krumlov Castle (March, 2023).
P.S.
I wasn’t able to visit Margaret Ferris (another 2022-2023 ETA alumna, who taught in České Budějovice) during my cross-country road trip, but I was able to visit her in New York City, where she moved after returning from Fulbright (Average time from Strážnice to České Budějovice: 8 hours by train; My time from Baltimore to New York City: 3 ½ hours by bus). After visiting her during my spring break, she even paid me a return visit in Maryland this past September!
Photo on the left: Eva and Margaret hugging on Eva’s last day in the Czech Republic (July, 2023).
Photo on the right: Margaret taking Eva out to dinner in New York City (March, 2024).